Jeanne saw that he was heading straight for the residential area behind the Black Faction's castle. Terrified, she quickly gave chase.
Seeing Jeanne running over, Haruka Kasugano immediately collapsed to the ground, shouting: "Ah... there's no more time..."
Then, he used [Camouflage] to strip away the Siegfried parameters from his body.
Mordred froze for a moment, then realized what was happening. However, she was quickly distracted by Spartacus lunging from behind.
"If I remember correctly... I'm supposed to push this thing's Noble Phantasm to its limit..." Mordred recalled Haruka Kasugano's arrangements. Thus, she unleashed a relentless bombardment on Spartacus.
Soon, Spartacus reached his limit, ready to release all the damage accumulated in his body. Seeing this, Mordred immediately fled.
Jeanne rushed over and shouted to Astolfo and Haruka Kasugano: "Both of you, get out of here! It's dangerous..."
"It's you... why did you come back..."
Haruka Kasugano remembered these lines perfectly; they were the key to tricking Jeanne. "I'm sorry... even though you saved this life of mine... I felt that no matter what, I had to do this!" Haruka Kasugano shouted with a look of dead seriousness.
"You..." Because of Haruka Kasugano's "handsome" expression, Jeanne once again recalled the images from her Revelation. Her face instantly flushed deep red.
--------------------
"Don't yell at him! He only came back to save me!" Astolfo shouted, standing up as he thought Jeanne was going to scold Haruka Kasugano.
"You..." Jeanne was speechless. "But there's no time! We have to leave!"
Then, to stay consistent with the plot, Haruka Kasugano cried out: "Ahhh... I can't move. I can't walk, the Red Saber wounded me too badly..."
"You're the one who should leave quickly. You're not a Servant who's supposed to die here..."
Jeanne was distressed. Being upright and honest, she certainly wouldn't abandon Haruka Kasugano. She shouted to Astolfo: "Then... Black Rider, you should first—"
"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!" Astolfo roared like a madman.
"But you're not a child anymore..." Jeanne said helplessly.
"I said no, and I mean no!" Astolfo roared. "I won't run away either!"
Though his reason had evaporated and he acted on a whim, Astolfo's spirit was still that of one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne. He gave Jeanne a bright smile.
Seeing this, Jeanne sighed. "I understand then. I also have a reason why I cannot leave this place!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Spartacus's collapse had reached its zenith. He was about to activate his Noble Phantasm. His target was clear: he was aiming for the Black Faction's castle. Whether because of the current distance or the fact that the castle was a symbol of "oppression," he had every reason to fire.
The problem was, if he only attacked the castle, Jeanne might not have intervened. But behind the castle was a town—a residential area. As the greatest magus family in Romania, the Yggdmillennia clan had been here for generations; they were the local lords and aristocrats, governing a vast urban area. Spartacus's attack would inevitably harm the residents.
Jeanne had to stop Spartacus's Noble Phantasm here. And as she looked at Haruka Kasugano lying on the ground behind her, she seemed to have found one more reason to stay.
"Whatever you do, do not leave my side, understood?" Jeanne commanded.
"Understood!" Astolfo shouted.
Spartacus's body grew larger and brighter, accumulating mana for his light-cannon attack.
"Spartacus... I will not let a hero like you harm innocent people!" Jeanne cried.
"The time has come—my strike shall shatter all oppression!!!" Being a Berserker, Spartacus completely ignored her.
BOOM— He opened his massive mouth and fired a world-destroying purple light cannon.
Jeanne did not flinch, shouting: "O flag of mine, protect my compatriots!"
[Luminosité Eternelle!]
Jeanne planted her hands forward, and her flag immediately emitted a blinding light.
CRASH!
Her Noble Phantasm held firm against Spartacus's. Half the castle was destroyed, but the residential area was completely protected. Jeanne stood before the disaster like a Goddess of Liberty. Her golden braid fluttered in the gale; the wind whipped her skirt, revealing the snowy-white skin of her thighs above her stockings, which looked exceptionally luminous under the glow of the light cannon.
Her posture was awe-inspiring, a beauty that transcended the label of a mere "country girl."
Haruka Kasugano was dazed. Luckily he was playing along and lying there, or he would have missed such a beautiful sight. In his heart, he became even more determined to bring Jeanne under his "command."
Thud!
After the dust settled, Jeanne relaxed. Spartacus had vanished.
"Ah~! We're alive! That's great~!" Astolfo sprawled across Haruka Kasugano, sighing with relief.
"Uh... even though you smell nice, can you stop blocking my view?" Haruka Kasugano was annoyed by Astolfo pressing down on him.
"Ah... sorry, sorry~!" Astolfo quickly jumped away.
Jeanne breathed a sigh of relief seeing they were okay. "It's wonderful that everyone is safe~!"
----------
On the other side, Karna and Vlad III were fighting a spectacular battle, neither giving an inch. Just as Karna prepared to release his Noble Phantasm, Vlad III braced for defense. But in the next second, Karna canceled it.
"A pleasant fight. Let us settle this next time!" With that, Karna dematerialized and left.
"What is going on..." Vlad III was bewildered.
Suddenly, the ground shook. Vlad III turned and saw with horror that the Hanging Gardens had appeared directly above the Black Faction's castle. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by Spartacus, it had snuck in.
The Gardens fired a pillar of light, using magical suction to pull the Greater Grail out from deep underground where Darnic had hidden it.
Everyone in the Black Faction was shocked. No one expected this! Vlad III, Avicebron, Darnic, and Chiron immediately leaped toward the Gardens to reclaim the Grail.
Frankenstein wanted to go too, but Fiore ordered Caules to use a Command Spell to forbid her. Caules didn't understand, but he obeyed his sister. Fiore didn't understand either, but she chose to listen to Haruka Kasugano.
Jeanne didn't idle; she immediately ran up toward the Hanging Gardens as well.
Haruka Kasugano stood up and looked at the Greater Grail being sucked away. He was surprised to find that it didn't look like the one in the Fate/Apocrypha anime; it looked like a battered stone pillar engraved with various runes.
Strange... where did this Grail come from?
However, the Grail was gone with Shirou Kotomine, and the Hanging Gardens flew away. Haruka Kasugano had no chance to investigate further.
"That was too weird~!!" Now free, Astolfo grabbed Haruka Kasugano and started lecturing him. "Why did you come back? You wasted all my previous effort! And you could actually fight the Red Saber? That's ridiculous! ...But I'm so glad you're alive..." Astolfo began to cry against Haruka Kasugano's chest.
While his "brother" smelled great, Haruka Kasugano's attention was on his surroundings. Normally, Celeike should have shown up around now out of jealousy and ordered Astolfo to kill him with a Command Spell.
But... Haruka Kasugano looked around and saw no sign of her. Strange... Butterfly effect? Did she not come?
Haruka Kasugano waited for ten minutes. He couldn't wait any longer; he still had to go into the castle to "save" the homunculi and gain the favor of the homunculus Toole. He shook off Astolfo and walked toward the castle.
But—
Just as he stepped through the gates, he felt a blow to the back of his head.
"Damn you... how dare you steal my Rider away..."
------------
Thwack!
Haruka Kasugano felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He rubbed it and turned around to see Celeike holding a mace, glaring at him with pure malice.
"...Motherf***er!" Haruka Kasugano cursed.
Celeike was stunned. Her strike was intended to kill, but this homunculus had only suffered a minor scrape. Scared, she hurriedly activated the bounded field on the gates.